(across the) "block" ~= street, and the OED?

[Dan Goncharoff]

I don't know how many street signs others look at to get one's
bearings, but one usually works for me, and I would resent the first
one I see when I get off the bus misleading me.

DanG

On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 11:25 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: (across the) "block" ~= street, and the OED?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>> "A nonlocal looking for, say, 150 W. 72 St. and
> not viscerally aware of the E/W division at Fifth Ave. could easily be
> misled into heading down E. 72 St."
>
> Except that the sign on the opposite corner actually says "E. 72 St."  Also,
> that nonlocal, looking for a West 72d Street address, would have to have
> wound up on the East (wrong) Side in the first place. Not impossible,
> but the fault of bad planning and  confusion, not the street sign.
>
> Also, changing the sign alters the city from my memories of it, which is
> something I do not support.
>
> JL
>
>
> On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 11:08 AM, Mark Mandel <thnidu at gmail.com> wrote:
>
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>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: (across the) "block" ~= street, and the OED?
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> "In practical terms, it is absolutely inconsequential" *to people who live
>> there and know the system*. A nonlocal looking for, say, 150 W. 72 St. and
>> not viscerally aware of the E/W division at Fifth Ave. could easily be
>> misled into heading down E. 72 St.
>>
>> I grew up in NYC and know the Manhattan system well. I have lived and
>> visited and gotten lost in many, many other areas where such critical
>> knowledge is assumed. For example, in the Boston area (as I recall it),
>> corners generally have signs identifying the cross street -- that is, the
>> smaller street -- but not the artery, apparently on the assumption that you
>> obviously know what street you're ON and are just looking to find the one
>> to
>> turn off to. If you're coming along a neighborhood street, conversely,
>> you're supposed to be able to recognize the artery when you reach it.
>>
>> And then, in Boston and Philadelphia and probably every city, there are the
>> corners with no signs at all, leading to cell phone calls like "HELP! I'm
>> at
>> You-obviously-don't-belong-here and None-of-your-business!!"
>>
>> Mark Mandel, geographically challenged
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 2:43 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
>> >wrote:
>>
>> > The "300 block" usage was unknown to me also in NYC, but it is very
>> common
>> > elsewhere.
>> >
>> > Those "W. 72d St." signs have been there for as long as I can remember.
>> >  The
>> > reason is that the division between East Side and West Side begins (or
>> > perhaps "began") on the West (Central Park) side of Fifth Avenue.
>> >
>> > In practical terms, it is absolutely inconsequential because it has no
>> > effect on address numbers on Fifth Avenue. There are no addresses "on" W.
>> > 72d St. as it wends its way toward Central Park West, or on any of the
>> > other
>> > handful of "transverses" through the park. The W. 72d St. addresses begin
>> > on
>> > the other side of Central Park.
>> >
>> > Another ex. of people with not enough to do and not enough on their
>> minds.
>> >
>> > JL
>>  >
>> >
>>
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>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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